Wake Up Call
by Coquillage
Summary: What would happen if Marrec caught the rookie Claerwen on her way to save Ellis? K because of character death and violence. ******Almost 200 Views!******
1. Chapter 1

Claerwen POV

"There isn't a moment to waste! Head to Ainle and find your cadet friend! Hurry, before it's too late!" Reilly ordered in what was perhaps the first sane thing I had ever heard the elderly magician say.

There wasn't time to ponder this, however. I had to save my friend. I had to save cadet leader Ellis.

Marrec POV

I saw Claerwen bolting out of the General Store as though Cichol himself was after her. Deciding to investigate, I hustled across Colhen and cut her off by the Inn.

"What's wrong, Claerwen?" I asked as I looked down into her sky blue eyes. I was troubled by what I saw in them. The normal daring and boldness was there. But something else was there as well. Something I had never expected to see in the strong woman's eyes. I saw fear.

"Ellis. We have to go get him!" she stammered as she started heading towards the Docks.

"Where is he?" I asked as I felt my heart move to my throat.

"Ainle."


	2. Chapter 2

Claerwen POV

"Ready?" I asked as the boat hit the riverbank on the outskirts of Ainle. I looked into Marrec's dark green eyes, the only thing I could see due to the helm he never seemed to take off. His eyes held worry and determination, as per usual. But there was something hidden in there. Something that looked suspiciously like fear.

I was drawn out of my reverie by the clink of his twin swords as he withdrew them from their sheaths.

"Ready." he replied as he jumped out of the boat and led the way into the ruined city.

Marrec POV

I led the way into Ainle. I knew that Claerwen could protect herself, but it was still nice to know that there was something in between the danger ahead and the younger girl, just in case she needed to escape.

I was pulled from my thoughts by the sound of low moans. Focusing my eyes, I spotted four goblin servants. With no words between us, she took the two on the left, while I took the two on the right. Claerwen finished both of her's off with one of her famous kicks, while I killed mine with a well-timed combo. We moved on, further into the hell that was once such a lovely town.

Several areas later and after even more goblins, we reached what appeared to be the final area. Throwing my arm out to keep the headstrong Claerwen from bolting out into the open, I took a quick look at our surroundings. We were obviously in a cemetery, and by the looks of it, anold cemetery. What a great omen.

A loud thud shook the ground just feet in front of us. Looking up, my blood ran cold as I caught my first glimpse of a monster more terrifying than any other. Information Chief Kalis was going to be hard to beat.

I gripped my swords tightly and began to move cautiously forward. Claerwen followed, and, almost immediately, we were surrounded by spiders, goblins, and the dreaded Servant of Hell. Standing back to back, we prepared ourselves for the fight of our lives.

The spiders and goblins proved to be no challenge to us. A few kicks here, a couple sword slashes there, and we were soon surrounded by corpses that were quickly turning to stone.

As we were heading towards the Servant of Hell, Claerwen stopped dead and stared up at another part of the cemetery.

"Claerwen? Let's go!" I shouted as I tried to shake her from her stupor. In response, she raised a trembling hand and pointed towards the tombstones.

"Ellis."


	3. Chapter 3

Claerwen POV

I couldn't believe my eyes. There was Ellis. An innocent cadet who had never hurt anyone. A young boy who had once confided in me that he had wanted to be an author.

Ellis was hurt. With his ripped uniform and the way he was stumbling, it was seriously.

"Ellis." I said as I pointed to him. Marrec followed my finger and stiffened.

"Let's go." I said as I ran blindly forward.

"Claerwen, wait!" I heard Marrec yell as he ran after me. But I wouldn't wait. My friend was in trouble, and I was going to save him.

Marrec POV

Claerwen bolted forward. As I ran after her, we got the attention of the Servant of Hell. As he lumbered forward, I looked again at Ellis, and then at Claerwen.

"We can't help Ellis until we kill this thing. Neither of us can fight this guy alone, and neither of us could take on Kalis. Okay?" I asked. And while she didn't respond, she didn't start running towards Ellis again.

"Alright. Let's do this." I yelled as I gripped my swords and ran. A slight clanking of armor behind me told me Claerwen was following me.

With each of us taking a side, Claerwen and I started attacking the Servant of Hell. It was a difficult fight. With one of us attacking from behind, the Servant of Hell would be attacking the other. However, it wasn't serious until the Servant of Hell actually picked Claerwen up and threw her small body against a brick wall. With the cracking of armor, I was in a blind rage. By the time she had gotten up and back over to the fight, the Servant of Hell was almost dead. And with a quick shield bash from Claerwen, he was just a memory. The fighting, however, was far from over.


	4. Chapter 4

Marrec POV

"Are you okay?" I asked her as I raked my eyes along her body in search of major injuries. Before she could respond, her eyes went wide and the little color present in her pale face drained. Turning around, I was sure my own eyes were wide as well.

Claerwen POV

Kalis was advancing on Ellis. The poor cadet, unable to stand by now, was scooting away as fast as possible. I'll never forget the fear in his eyes.

Before Marrec and I could move, before we could even blink, Kalis grabbed Ellis by the head. And before we could even take a step forward, the monster slammed the cadet into a nearby tombstone. The cracking of the stone confirmed our worst fears.

Marrec POV

Kalis threw Ellis's body over the fence and then jumped it himself. We couldn't get over to Ellis, but we both knew that there was no point. Morrighan had wrapped her ebony wings around the boy and spirited him away from our world.

Without a glance towards me, Claerwen ran full force towards Kalis and started attacking with all of her might. A change had overcome the young girl. For every time she was thrown back, she got up and ran at him again.

As I attacked Kalis myself, out of the corner of my eye I could see the blur that was Claerwen. For every one of his stabs, she parried with a combo of her own.

Feeling it was safe to run and drink an HP potion, I left her alone for a moment and retreated to the entrance. Just as I was finishing the liquid, I heard a thud as earth-shaking as an earthquake. Turning around, I saw Claerwen, the little rookie who saved Tieve at the Bell Tower, the girl who killed the Gnoll Chieftain, the mercenary who finished off the White Tyrant, standing over the now lifeless body of Information Chief Kalis.


	5. Chapter 5

Marrec POV

Claerwen dropped her weapons and ran towards Ellis. She slid to her knees beside him, completely ignorant of the rocks littering the ground and digging into her flesh. Placing a hand on his chest, Claerwen knelt beside him and looked frantically for any sign of life. Obviously searching in vain, she removed her hand from his body and placed both upon her face.

"Claerwen!" I shouted as I ran to her and knelt by her side. As she shook, I had no idea what to do. Looking around, I looked at Ellis and saw that his eyes were still open, reflecting the full moon that had started to rise. Closing his eyes and offering a quick prayer to Morrighan, I turned my attention back to Claerwen.

"Claerwen?" I asked as I placed a hand on her shoulder, noting the ripped fabric of her armor and the bruises already forming upon her skin.

At the sound of my voice, Claerwen removed her hands from her face. Even though her lip was cut and her eye was black, she wasn't crying and her voice was steady as she spoke.

"We have to move him. We have to take his body back." she said as she scooted over and began to try and life Ellis's body. I stopped her with a quick motion.

"It's too late. Look." I said as I pointed towards his feet. As with all dead things in this cursed city, the cadet was quickly turning to stone.

Claerwen POV

"Quick! We've got to at least get his belongings. Tieve can perform a memorial rite on them!" I exclaimed as I dug into the pockets of his cadet uniform. I pulled out a pocketwatch, a cadet journal, and a pencil and stowed them in an empty pocket of my bag. At the last second, I ripped his cadet emblem from his uniform and added it as well. With a final motion, Ellis was now nothing more than a statue.

I placed my hand upon his chest and looked at his face once more. Here was perhaps my best friend. The only person who could never find fault in me and was never angry with me. And I couldn't help him. I removed my hand and watched as his body turned to dust and blew away into the night sky.


	6. Chapter 6

Marrec POV

"We should head back." Claerwen said as she stood and began to walk towards the entrance. Within two steps, however, she was on the ground.

"Claerwen!" I exclaimed as I knelt beside her.

"It's my ankle." she grimaced before continuing. "Nothing major." she finished as she made to stand.

"It's not nothing if you fell because of it." I answered as I removed the remains of her boot. I held the bruised appendage as I looked at it closely. "I think it's just a bad sprain. The bone seems okay." I said as I stood and offered her a hand.

As she took my hand, I held her steady and lowered myself to where she could get on my back. With a sigh of protest that I quickly shot down with a look, Claerwen clammered onto my back. With a quick look back at the cemetery, I turned towards the entrance and began to take us back to the boat.


	7. Chapter 7

Claerwen POV

The trip back to Colhen was rather uneventful. We only talked a bit, and it was mostly Marrec with his questions about my injuries. With plenty of wheedling, he discovered that, along with my sprained ankle and apparently beat-up face, I was bruised inside and out.

"I'll be fine. Don't worry." I said as Marrec yet again dug around in his bag for a healing erg he insisted that he had.

"Sorry, but I'm not buying it. From what I'm seeing, you basically acted like a human meat shield." he replied as he continued to dig through his bag. "Where is that stupid erg?" he muttered to himself.

"Might as well give it up. We're almost home." I said as the bank of Colhen drew nearer.

When the boat hit the bank, it felt like my heart crashed into the boat and sank into the waters below us.

Marrec POV

"Put me down, please." Claerwen said as we neared the threshold of the Mercenary Outpost.

"What, why? You can hardly walk." I replied as I stopped dead.

"I know, but I want to enter on my own power. I want everyone to know that weakness didn't kill Ellis."

"Fine. But if you so much as stumble, I'll carry you if I have to throw you over my shoulder." I replied as I set her down.

"Deal. Now let's go." Claerwen conceded as she began hobbling towards the Outpost.

"Claerwen! Marrec! We were worried! Where did you two run off to?" Aodhan demaded. As he took in our injuries (mostly Claerwen's), his eyes widened in worry. "What the hell happened to you two? Sit down, Claerwen. You look like you could keel over at any moment!" he finished as he made to push Gallagher out of the nearest chair.

Captain, where is Gwynn? There's something you should both hear." Claerwen replied as she put a hand on the table to steady herself.

"Here I am. What is it, mercenary?" Gwynn asked as she stepped forward briskly.

"It's about Ellis. And you aren't going to like what you hear." And with those words, Claerwen took out the bundle of Ellis's belongings and set them in the middle of the table.


End file.
